Journal of Crop Production and Processing

Stickiness and pastiness after cooking is one of the basic problems of macaroni production technology. Investigation of the factors affecting stickiness and pastiness of Iranian Macaroni is essential. The purpose of this research was to study the effects of percentage of gluten in the flour as well as extruder and drying temperatures on the macaroni quality. The factors studied are as follows:

1- Percentages of flour gluten at levels of 8.5, 10.5, 12.5 and 14.5 prepared by adding gluten to the macaroni flour purchased from the market.

2- Temperature of the dough discharged from the extruder (three levels: 48, 58 and 68 °C) obtained through changing the temperature of the water used in making the dough, circulation and noncirculation water in extruder jacket, and changing the rotational speed of extruder screw and increasing dough retention time.

3- Drying temperature (two levels: 50 and 62 °C) obtained through changing the number of burners in the heating system and using electrical heaters in the drying cabinet.

 The results of the e:xperiments and their evaluation are as follows: using flour with a gluten percentage of 12.5 or 14.5 (12.5% gluten is preferred for economic reasons) with an extruder temperature of 48 °C and a drying temperature of 62 °C will improve the macaroni quality. This treatment resulted in the production of macaroni with less stickiness, pastiness and cooking loss.